At least four people, including two women and a child, lost their lives and several were still missing when a boat with roughly three dozen people, capsized in the river Yamuna in Marka area of Banda district in Uttar Pradesh on Thursday.
District administration officials said that the mishap occurred at around 3 p.m. when the boat, on its way to Jarauli Ghat in Fatehpur district capsized due to strong winds, an official said.
Abhinandan, Banda’s Superintendent of Police (SP), said, “Till now, 13 people have been rescued and 17 are still missing. Four bodies have been recovered. Search and rescue operation is on. The State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) team has reached, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team is on the way and senior government officials, including the Deputy Inspector General (DIG) and the District Collector are supervising the rescue operations.”
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath expressed grief over the tragedy and directed rescue teams and officials to expedite the relief work.
“CM Yogi Adityanath expressed grief over the loss of lives in the Banda boat tragedy. The Chief Minister has directed officials... to ensure that the injured are provided the best treatment,” a statement from the Chief Minister’s Office said.